Red Bay baseball falls to Mars Hill in Class 2A semifinals

On Tuesday, May 12, the No. 6-ranked Red Bay High School varsity baseball team, in its second semifinal appearance in three years, was eliminated from the Class 2A postseason, dropping both games of the day’s home doubleheader against No. 5 Mars Hill Bible School 21-6 and 4-3.

In game one of the best-of-three series, the Tigers took it on the chin to start. Mars Hill scored 11 runs in the top of the first and then added five more in the second to take a 16-1 advantage into the third inning.

Red Bay was able to string out five runs over the course of the third and fourth innings, but it wasn’t enough to pull back within the necessary nine-run margin to stave off an early end to the contest. The Panthers would go on to mirror the Tigers’ run production with five runs scored in the fourth and fifth innings, giving the visitors the final 21-6 lead.

Three different pitchers appeared on the mound for RBHS, but it was starter Carson McGee who was stuck with the loss after allowing seven runs (three earned) off five hits through two-thirds of an inning. Landyn Lewey and B Massey made relief appearances; Lewey pitched two and two-thirds innings, allowing 11 earned. runs off 10 hits, and Massey pitched one and two-thirds, giving up two earned runs off one hit.

Of the 21 runs Red Bay allowed only 13 were earned. The Tigers committed two errors in the field.

Offensively, Red Bay’s top contributor in game one was Riley Carpenter whose three-run homer in the third accounted for half of the Tigers’ run production. Carpenter finished with four RBI; McGee and senior Jeremiah Thorne collected an RBI each.

The second game of the series was a much more competitive affair, but it was Mars Hill this time that needed to overcome an initial deficit.

The Tigers drew first blood in game two, plating three runs in the top of the third inning. Thorne led off the inning with a double that set up McGee to drive him in with a single to center field. A couple of at-bats later, Ayden Pruitt made it 2-0, pushing McGee across with a bunt single. Red Bay’s final run was scored Carpenter, who came around after another bunt single by Lewey.

From the third inning on, Red Bay was held scoreless by the Panthers’ B Campbell, who tossed a complete game. Down 3-0, Mars Hill was able to chip away at Red Bay’s lead over the course of the next four innings, scoring one run in the third, two in the fifth, and the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth.

Thorne, who pitched all six innings for Red Bay, was stuck with the loss after allowing four earned runs off four hits. He finished the game with nine strikeouts.

At the plate, Red Bay collected seven hits, three more than MHBS. Thorne, from the leadoff position, went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Red Bay finished its 2026 campaign with a county championship, an area title and a final 25-8 record.